Teenage Drama
David Bezmozgis’s second feature film ‘Natasha’ is a coming-of-age, Russian-Jewish immigrant story set in Toronto


David Bezmozgis, a longtime contributor to Tablet both online and in print—who was even featured as the “Jew of the Week” during our Unorthodox live show in Toronto—is the writer and director of the new film Natasha, which premieres in New York City at Lincoln Plaza Cinemas tomorrow, April 28. Natasha is a coming-of-age story about Russian Jewish immigrants in Toronto, and is adapted from the title story of Bezmozgis’s debut collection. The film stars Alex Ozerov (a real-life Russian-American who plays one in TV’s The Americans, as well) and Sasha K. Gordon.
Bezmozgis has written shrewdly on the state of American Jewish literature for us, and is himself among the greatest contemporary Canadian Jewish writers. He was named to The New Yorker’s 20 Under 40 list in 2010, and has been nominated for several other honors and awards. In addition to Natasha and Other Stories, his books include two novels, The Free World and The Betrayers.
This is Bezmozgis’s second feature film; his first, Victoria Day, premiered at Sundance in 2009.
Miranda Cooper is an editorial intern at Tablet. Follow her on Twitter here.